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SUMMARY: Understanding the genetic basis of population divergence and adaptation is an important goal in population genetics and evolutionary biology. However, the relative roles of demographic history, gene flow, and/or selective regime in driving genomic divergence, climatic adaptation, and speciation in non‐model tree species are not yet fully understood. To address this issue, we generated whole‐genome resequencing data of Liquidambar formosana and L. acalycina, which are broadly sympatric but altitudinally segregated in the Tertiary relict forests of subtropical China. We integrated genomic and environmental data to investigate the demographic history, genomic divergence, and climatic adaptation of these two sister species. We inferred a scenario of allopatric species divergence during the late Miocene, followed by secondary contact during the Holocene. We identified multiple genomic islands of elevated divergence that mainly evolved through divergence hitchhiking and recombination rate variation, likely fostered by long‐term refugial isolation and recent differential introgression in low‐recombination genomic regions. We also found some candidate genes with divergent selection signatures potentially involved in climatic adaptation and reproductive isolation. Our results contribute to a better understanding of how late Tertiary/Quaternary climatic change influenced speciation, genomic divergence, climatic adaptation, and introgressive hybridization in East Asia's Tertiary relict flora. In addition, they should facilitate future evolutionary, conservation genomics, and molecular breeding studies in Liquidambar, a genus of important medicinal and ornamental values. Significance Statement: We assembled a chromosome‐scale genome of Liquidambar formosana and resequenced 160 individuals of L. formosana and its high‐altitude sister species L. acalycina. Benefiting from advanced analytical methods and robust evidence, we found that multiple "genomic islands" mainly evolved as a result of divergence hitchhiking and recombination rate variation, as likely fostered by long‐term refugial isolation and recent differential introgression in low‐recombination genomic regions; and identified some candidate genes associated with climatic adaptation and reproductive isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bamboo shoots and their products are an important part of the human diet. However, the accumulation and accurate human health risk of heavy metal(loid)s in bamboo shoots are largely unknown. In this study, we determined the total and bioaccessible concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, and Cr in natural and processed bamboo shoot products from markets in southwest China. The health risk assessment and enterotoxicity after consumption of heavy metal(loid)s contaminated samples were further studied using a human colonic epithelial cell (Caco-2 cell) model. The results showed that the average concentrations of As, Pb, Cd, and Cr in the collected samples were 0.036, 0.056, 0.008, and 0.049 mg/kg, while Pb contents in 21 collected fresh bamboo shoot samples exceeded the allowable limit value of 0.1 mg/kg by 1.00–4.60 folds. Besides, As in 2 % fresh bamboo shoots exceeded the limit value of 0.50 mg/kg. The average bioaccessibility of heavy metal(loid)s in fresh bamboo shoots was as follows: Cr (47.20 %) > Pb (39.56 %) > Cd (15.64 %)> As (13.29 %). Estimated daily intake (EDI) of heavy metal(loid)s after intake of fresh bamboo shoots was higher in children than that in adults, the THQ of As is > 1 based on the total heavy metal(loid)s, indicating a potential non-carcinogenic risk for children. However, health risks assessment based on bioaccessibility were significantly decreased. Furthermore, intestinal digesta of high-risk samples did not trigger detrimental effects on Caco-2 cells, suggesting existing health risk assessment model may overestimate their health risks and should be adjusted by bioaccessibility and cellular toxicity validation to accurately reflect their health risk. Our data may provide a novel and scientific insight into the health risk assessment of bamboo shoots as well as their products and propose a more scientific approach to accurate health risk assessment for heavy metals polluted foods. [Display omitted] • The As, Cd, Pb, and Cr in bamboo shoots and their products were analyzed. • The As, Pb, Cd, and Cr in most bamboo shoot products did not exceed the limit. • The bioaccessibility of As, Pb, Cd, and Cr in bamboo shoot was 13.29–47.20 %. • The intestinal digesta of risk samples did not trigger cytotoxicity in Caco-2 cells. • Both bioaccessibility and toxicity should be involved in accurate risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Several hypotheses are available to predict change in genetic diversity at expanding peripheral ranges. However, empirical evidence to test predictions of the centre–periphery hypothesis (CPH) at contracting range limits is scarce. To address this issue, we assessed spatial patterns of genetic variation, effective population size, and contemporary and historical gene flow in a widespread, Tertiary relict tree species from subtropical China. Location: Warm‐temperate deciduous forests of subtropical China. Taxon: Emmenopterys henryi (Rubiaceae) Methods: We applied kernel density estimation to determine the centre of the species' geographical range. Using microsatellite markers, we assessed genetic structure and diversity in 36 populations (503 individuals) sampled in the centre and periphery across the species' range. We further examined both historical and contemporary gene flow. Finally, we applied coalescent methods to simulate population demography. Results: In support of CPH predictions, the highest density of E. henryi coincided with the geographical centre of the species' distribution range, and genetic diversity significantly declined with distance from this range centre. Historical migration from the core to the edge was significantly higher than in the opposite direction, whereas contemporary migration followed an opposite pattern. Central and peripheral populations had similar levels of genetic differentiation. Main conclusions: Core‐to‐edge patterns of genetic diversity, but not genetic differentiation, were consistent with the CPH in E. henryi. Also in line with the CPH, historical (but not contemporary) migration from the core to the edge was significantly higher than in the opposite direction. Results suggest that the complex topography in subtropical China and population demographic processes may strongly influence whether CPH predictions are met in different population genetic parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bark beetles and their associated fungi, which cause forest decline and sometimes high mortality in large areas around the world, are of increasing concern in terms of forest health. Three Tomicus spp. (T. brevipilosus, T. minor and T. yunnanensis) infect branches and trunks of Pinus yunnanensis and P. kesiya in Yunnan Province, in south-western China. Tomicus spp. are well known as vectors of ophiostomatoid fungi and their co-occurrence could result in serious ecological and economic impact on local forest ecosystems. Nonetheless, knowledge about their diversity, ecology, including pathogenicity and potential economic importance is still quite rudimentary. Therefore, an extensive survey of ophiostomatoid fungi associated with these Tomicus species infesting P. yunnanensis and P. kesiya was carried out in Yunnan. Seven hundred and seventy-two strains of ophiostomatoid fungi were isolated from the adult beetles and their galleries. The strains were identified based on comparisons of multiple DNA sequences, including the nuclear ribosomal large subunit (LSU) region, the internal transcribed spacer regions 1 and 2, together with the intervening 5.8S gene (ITS) and the partial genes of ß-tubulin (TUB2), elongation factor 1a (TEF1-a) and calmodulin (CAL). Phylogenetic analyses were performed using maximum parsimony (MP) as well as maximum likelihood (ML). Combinations of culture features, morphological characters and temperature-dependent growth rates were also employed for species identification. Eleven species belonging to five genera were identified. These included six known species, Esteya vermicola, Leptographium yunnanense, Ophiostoma brevipilosi, O. canum, O. minus and O. tingens and four novel taxa, described as Graphilbum anningense, O. aggregatum, Sporothrix pseudoabietina and S. macroconidia. A residual strain was left unidentified as Ophiostoma sp. 1. The overall ophiostomatoid community was by far dominated by three species, representing 87.3% of the total isolates; in decreasing order, these were O. canum, O. brevipilosi and O. minus. Furthermore, the ophiostomatoid community of each beetle, although harbouring a diversity of ophiostomatoid species, was differentially dominated by a single fungal species; Ophiostoma canum was preferentially associated with and dominated the ophiostomatoid community of T. minor, whereas O. brevipilosi and O. minus were exclusively associated with and dominated the ophiostomatoid communities of T. brevipilosus and T. yunnanensis, respectively. Eight additional species, representing the remaining 12.7% of the total isolates, were marginal or sporadic. These results suggested that sympatric Tomicus populations are dominated by distinct species showing some level of specificity or even exclusivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary China, urban consumers often imagine that the unprepared foods produced in rural areas (often less developed and occupied by ethnic minorities) are pollution free, healthy, and environmentally friendly. During a recent culture-based development project in southwest China, villagers in several ethnic minority villages proposed that local foods could act as cultural resources for rural development. However, instead of highlighting the ethnic affiliation of their unprepared foods, villagers insisted on marketing their cuisines (cooked or prepared foods) under the new brand name of nongjiale ("farmers' joy"). My argument is that the ethnic titles of these minority groups have been closely associated with negative connotations and so-called "unusual cuisines" (yiwei). This association cannot be easily removed. It is already rooted in public discourse and present throughout historical documents. However, the rebranding of restaurants as nongjiale has brought local villagers a new, positive marketing strategy. In urban and mainstream Chinese cultural areas, nongjiale connotes that food is organic, nutritious, ecological, and part of a return to nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study is to disclose characteristics of birth defects in perinatal infants in Dalian and provide an epidemiological basis for controlling birth defects.Methods: Data used in this study were collected from surveillance hospitals in Dalian during 2006-2010. Comparison analysis and trend analysis were conducted by performing Chi-square tests.Results: The perinatal prevalence of birth defects from 2006 to 2010 was 101.14 per 10 000 live births and was decreased by about 29% from 115.49 per 10 000 live births in 2006 to 81.16 per 10 000 live births in 2010. The prevalence in urban was higher than that in rural areas significantly. The three leading birth defects were congenital heart disease, cleft lip and/or palate, and polydactyly or syndactyly. About 572 cases identified by antenatal diagnosis were terminated pregnancy before 28 weeks of gestation, so the prevalence of birth defects would decrease from 126.29/10 000 to 101.14/10 000.Conclusions: Dalian has experienced a decreasing temporal trend of birth defects' prevalence; however, it is still confronted with the challenge to reduce the prevalence of birth defects. Congenital heart diseases are the focus to prevent birth defects. It is necessary to keep the surveillance system function properly, provide preconception health care service extensively, and improve the ability of prenatal diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are the time related classifiers in both Chinese and Thai word--class. But there are also some differences in word combination and syntactic functions. By comparing the usage of time related classifiers, we can find Chinese time related classifiers are richer and more complicated than those in Thai language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pattern of local people's self-consciousness in Enshi prefecture has two important aspects." regional identity and lineage identity. At the local level, an inclusive regional identity often contains several exclusive lineage identities. The customs related to the expression of lineage identity are highly' resistant to change and cannot be shared even by neighboring lineages that officially belong to the same ethnic group, while the commonly shared customs related to the expression of regional identity cannot be assigned to any specific ethnic group. The analysis suggests that since the officially recognized ethnic boundaries cover people belonging to different regions and unrelated lineages, the official ethnic categories are not the proper analytic units for cultural studies of areas like Enshi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a study of the local food culture and identity politics in Enshi Prefecture, China. It examines customary foods of Enshi people, as sold in the Hezha restaurants, and the relations between these foods and the Tujia ethnic identity that the local elite has constructed. The analysis suggests that these Hezha foods reflect the highly unified aspect of the local regional identity, which cannot be classified into, or analyzed in terms of, the officially recognized ethnic categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unintentional ingestion of metal-contaminated soils may pose a great threat to human health. To accurately evaluate the health risks of heavy metal(loid)s in soils, their bioaccessibility has been widely determined by in vitro assays and increasingly employed to optimize the assessment parameters. Given that, using meta-analysis, we analyzed the literature on farmland heavy metal(loid)s (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Ni, and Zn) in Chinese main grain production regions, and collected their total and bioaccessibility data to accurately assess their human health risks. Monte Carlo simulation was used to reduce the uncertainty in metal concentration, intake rate, toxicity coefficient, and body weight. We found that the mean concentration (0.47 mg/kg) and geological accumulation index (I geo , 0-5.24) of Cd were the priority position of controlling metals. Moreover, children are more vulnerable to carcinogenic risks than adults. Soil mineralogy, physicochemical properties, Fe, and the types of in vitro assays are the influencing factors of bioaccessibility discrepancy. Furthermore, appropriate bioaccessibility determination methods can be adapted according to the differences in ecological receptors for the risk assessment, like developing a "personalized assessment" scheme for polluted farmland soil management. Collectively, bioaccessibility-based models may provide an accurate and effective approach to human health risk assessment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The present study aimed to establish an index system for the performance evaluation of specialty nurses (SNs) in tertiary hospitals., Background: An objective index system for performance evaluation of SN has not yet been established in China., Design: A 2-round Delphi survey sought opinions from experts about the index system for SNs' performance evaluation in tertiary hospitals in China., Methods: Delphi survey was used to inquire approximately 20 experts from the fields of nursing management, nursing education, and clinical nursing. We determined the weight coefficient of each index of performance evaluation based on the opinion. Finally, the index of the quality evaluation was established for SN., Results: A total of 20 experts from 10 provinces in China reached a consensus on the tertiary indexes of the assessment model. The indexes contained first-level (4), second-level (16), and third-level (24) indicators. The 4 aspects of the performance evaluation, including clinical specialist practice assessment, nursing research, education assessment, medical cooperation recognition, and personal comprehensive ability assessment, reached consensus., Conclusion: Establishing the performance evaluation for SNs aided the SNs in achieving the best clinical practice after training. The performance evaluation still needed to be continuously improved., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To investigate the clinicopathological features of gastric carcinoma in southern China and disease trends changes over the last 18 years., Methods: We designed a retrospective study in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the first affiliated hospital, Sun Yat-sen University. A total of 2100 adult patients with definitely diagnosed, histologically proven gastric carcinomas treated with radical gastrectomy from 1994 to 2013 were examined retrospectively. In all cases patient age, gender, tumor location, Borrmann type, histopathological type and grade, and pTNM stage were identified and recorded. The information was obtained from hospital records. The data were analyzed with Stata12.0 software., Results: In this study, the mean age of patients was 57 years with a range from 19-89 years. A higher incidence was found in patients over 60 years of age. In the study population, 67.38% of patients were male and 32.62% were female. Women had a higher disease incidence than men in patients less than 40 years of age (P < 0.001). No obvious change of patient age and gender was observed in the last 18 years. The rates of disease by location were the following: antrum (44.57%), followed by fundus/ body (24.95%) and cardia/gastroesophageal junction (23.00%). The mean tumor diameter was 5.57 cm, and advanced gross type Borrmann III was most common. Most patients were at advanced stages when first diagnosed, and patients with early stage disease were relatively rare. More early stage patients were detected in recent years, especially after 2000 (P < 0.001). Gastric carcinoma has different features in young and old patients. The young patients had the following features: more frequently female, tumors in the antrum, larger tumor size, poorly differentiated carcinoma, high rate of metastasis to other sites and advanced stages (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: In southern China, gastric carcinoma was more frequent in old men and young women. Young and old patients should be treated differently for having different features.

Objective: To study the emotional and depressive differences between severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients whose occupations were doctor/nurse and others., Methods: During the three months when SARS was explosive in 2003, 524 questionnaires were collected from Xuanwu Hospital, You'an Hospital, Xiaotangshan Hospital, Renmin Hospital and Ditan Hospital in Beijing. There were 109 questionnaires finished by patients as doctors/nurses themselves. For a background matching, 109 questionnaires were also finished by the others., Results: From 218 questionnaires, we found that the score on emotional condition (46.6204 +/- 8.4408 vs. 41.6789 +/- 8.612 95, P < 0.001) of SARS patients whose jobs were doctor/nurse was higher than the other groups on while the score of SARS patients whose jobs were doctor/nurse was lower than the other groups (37.7615 +/- 9.026 61 vs. 41.2844 +/- 9.655 25, P = 0.006) regarding depressive condition. The scores of emotional and depressive condition were all correlated with the factor as "I can not master my future"., Conclusion: Doctors/nurses having SARS had less emotional and depressive conditions than the others, which might due to the difference in medical knowledge, working condition and the route of infection, suggesting that psychological intervention in the post-SARS period called for attention.